Sketch of mystery dead man released

This mnan was found dead in a Rotorua park, and has yet to
be identified. Image from NZ Police

Police have released a computerised sketch of a man found
dead in a Rotorua park, and say it's "highly unusual" that the
body still remains unidentified.

Despite a number of public appeals and enquiries, police are
still in the dark over the identity of the mystery man, whose
body was found in Linton Park reserve on Monday.

A sketch was released this afternoon in the hope someone
would recognise him.

"It is highly unusual to find ourselves in this situation,"
Detective Sergeant Tony Colby said this afternoon.

The location where he was found would suggest he was local or
familiar with the area, he said, but the more time that
passed without anyone coming forward, the more police had to
consider he may be from out of town.

"Not every parent is in contact with their adult children on
a day-to-day basis but I'm sure every parent would want to
know if something happened to their son or daughter, so we
are asking everyone to spread the word so that we can do the
right thing by this man and his family."

The man had a distinguishing mark on his left cheek, which
was darker than his skin colour and possibly a birthmark.

Although only small, it could be something that would be
memorable to a family member or friend.

The man is most likely Polynesian, but possibly Maori.

Police are estimating his age as in his 20s but don't want
anyone to rule out someone who is older or younger based on
this estimate.

He had no tattoos but he did have two significant scars on
his right inner forearm.

One was a scar about 12cm long running from his wrist up his
arm and the other was approximately 4cm long near the elbow
joint.

Police said they were thick scars, more likely from an
accident than surgery, and likely would have required
stitches.

On this same wrist he wore a plain plastic yellow wristband.

He had short cropped hair and thin razored, well groomed
sideburns and facial hair.

His clothing included a blue Bulldogs cap and black and red
Nike trainers.

He wore a khaki Dickies shirt over a purple and yellow
singlet with Lakers 24 on the front and Bryant on the back.

Under that he wore a black t-shirt with a Crack a Woody
design.

He also wore Dickies shorts that matched his shirt and his
belt had a distinctive steel buckle that doubled as a bottle
opener.

Anyone who saw someone they know fitting this description in
the area late last week or over the weekend is asked to
contact Rotorua police on (07) 348 0099.